Not that you asked, but I was in a brief Dresden Files game, and the biggest problem I had with the system is that so-called "minor talents" are screwed. They pay a Fate Point fee for the ability to have what amounts to a pretty weak power. The idea, I suppose, is that they can buy more powers later. But what it boiled down to in our game was that they had as few FP as the far more versatile supernatural characters, but were only marginally more powerful than the regular humans, who had loads of FP.

I do like the idea of changing Complications into Aspects that someone brought up. I sort of use them in the same way already. Maybe if I try to jazz them up and make them more Aspecty, the players will come up with stuff that's more colorful than "Famous."

Still getting a kick out of these Cyberforce builds. Cyblade was basically Silvestri just drawing Psylocke and making her slightly less-asian looking. It was hilarious how little effort he actually put into that one- at least Stryker & Ripclaw looked disinct from their forebears.

I just love how Cyblade wears a stripper chaps and thong outfit over cybernetic legs. I love almost every stripperific costume out there (half of it just to piss off jabroniville ), and this costume choice cracks me up. Gotta love those wacky Image guys.

COMPLICATIONS:Accident: Wanda's power sometimes gets beyond her control and crazy things happen.Mental Instability: Wanda has mental issues following the loss of her children at birth (or so she believes) and the vast power within her.Plot Device: Wands has vast reality warping powers which become an X trait if the GM requires.Power Loss: Wanda cannot cast her spells without being able speak or gesture.Relationships: Her brother, Quicksilver (most of the time), her ex-husband The Vision (off and on), her father Magneto (shaky) and she has burgeoning relationships with Wiccan and Speed, her children.

Build Comments: Poor Wanda has been through a lot over the years thanks her ability to be a great plot device, but she keeps trucking along. Recently, she was depowered and betrothed to one Victor Von Doom with her sons Wiccan and Speed, their grandfather Magneto and the other Young Avengers all involved in stopping the wedding and other such mayhem. But it looks like she got her mojo back, so that will be an interesting event in the Marvel U. It will be REALLY interesting for those who remember House of M and M-Day and what she did to the mutant population. Heck, maybe she'll reverse that and we'll have Blob back the way we like him!

This is kind of a core build Wanda, but I’m not completely happy with it. I basically took my magic array from Wiccan and tweaked it a bit since their powers are similar. I’ll have to go over it again and see what I really think it should be, but this is a good start for now.

Secret Origins: Born at the Wundagore base of the High Evolutionary, Wanda and her twin brother Pietro are the children of Erik Lehnsherr. They were eventually placed in the care of a Romani couple named Django and Marya Maximoff, from whom they were separated as teens when their encampment was attacked. They were later recruited into Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and, as the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, fought the X-Men on several occasions. At the time, none of the three were aware of the siblings' paternity.

The Story so Far: They soon abandoned their terrorist activities, while Magneto was imprisoned by the Stranger, and joined the Avengers. The remaining founding members had all gone on a leave of absence, leaving Captain America to lead an all-new lineup including Wanda, Pietro, and the archer known as Hawkeye. Although she became more adept in her power's use, Wanda did not realize that she was tapping into genuine magic. It was believed that the Scarlet Witch would have been an ordinary energy manipulator or perhaps simply able to cause bad luck if not due to Chthon's attempt to use her as a pawn.

Wanda fell in love with the synthezoid Vision, an artificial being created by Avengers foe Ultron who joined the team rather than fight them. The Scarlet Witch eventually married her teammate, not realizing that they were being manipulated by Immortus, who sought to prevent Wanda from having a child (Wanda was actually a key figure, or nexus being, to her reality, and her children would have power to shake the foundations of the universe).

Wanda eventually drew on magic energy to give birth to twin sons, Tommy & Billy, but this energy was eventually revealed to have come from the demon Mephisto, who reabsorbed them, effectively ending their existence. Wanda had also reanimated her deceased mentor, Agatha Harkness, through whom she cast a spell to make her forget her children in order to ease her pain. Though Wanda later recalled her loss, she suppressed this memory over the long term. After his reformation, The Vision and Wanda no longer shared the closeness they once had.

While both were serving as members of the Avengers West Coast, Wanda also grew to love Wonder Man, the man whose brain patterns had been used to form the Vision's mind. Both were among the former AWC members who opted to form Force Works after the team's dissolution. As the leader of this new team, Wanda used a 'hex mainframe' computer designed by Iron Man. Through her powers and the computer's calculations, they could proactively determine where the team was most needed rather than react to an alarm or breaking news. Although Wanda was appointed team leader, she often clashed with Iron Man overriding her orders. She was deeply saddened by Wonder Man's death on the first mission of Force Works. After rejoining the Avengers, she used her increased powers to resurrect him, although his ionic energy likely made him able to be restored. For some time, Wonder Man was mostly a cloud of ionic energy that Wanda had to summon.

Training with Agatha Harkness increased Wanda's control of her 'Chaos Magic'. Even after Agatha died her astral form continued to assist Wanda. However, at least some of this training may have been an illusion made by Wanda herself.

In years after, Wanda remained in her role as a longtime Avengers mainstay, salvaging her relationship with the Vision as best she could - although sparks also appeared with Captain America towards the end of her Avengers tenure - the moment she brought the team to its lowest moment ever recorded.

The Scarlet Witch seemingly gained powerful reality-altering abilities from "Chaos Magic"; however, this proved to be an uncontrolled aspect of her mutant power and created a great mental strain on her. An unintentional remark by teammate Wasp about Wanda's lost children apparently drove her over the edge. She suffered a nervous breakdown and lashed out with her new power, subjecting the Avengers to a savage assault and apparently killing Agatha Harkness and some of her teammates. Others were injured or affected by various odd outbursts and incidents. The remaining Avengers gathered including a number of reservists. However, it appeared some of them were more illusions created by Wanda.

Doctor Strange appeared, sensing abuse of magic, and angry that he had not been notified of Wanda's recent problems. Strange was forced to use the Eye of Agamotto on Wanda, which apparently showed her a memory so horrible she went into a catatonic state. Magneto suddenly appeared to collect his daughter, and brought her to Genosha so Professor X could help her.

Unfortunately, Xavier refused to do so as Wanda attempted to restore her husband to life and undo the damage she had caused. Keeping Wanda in a comatose state, Xavier ultimately called a meeting between the Avengers and X-Men to decide whether or not Wanda should be killed. Quicksilver was horrified at the fact that Xavier seriously considered killing Wanda and convinced Wanda to take desperate action to keep this from happening: By using her powers, Wanda warped reality into the House of M, a world where mutants were the majority, humans the minority, and Magneto the ruler (simultaneously giving various other heroes what they wanted most, hoping this would prevent them rebelling). In this reality, Wanda was believed to be a human, due to an alternate body she created to represent her in public while she cared for her children in private.

A young mutant named Layla Miller (a deformed mutant who was given a normal body thanks to Wanda's reality warp) was able to use her mutant abilities to restore several of the heroes' memories. Meanwhile Wolverine (the only person who sensed the reality's "wrongness") and a resurrected Hawkeye (who had been seemingly killed during Wanda's breakdown) and Cloak gathered these heroes into an assault force to try to restore reality. This rag-tag army headed to Genosha to attack Magneto, believing him to be the one responsible for the change. During the battle between Magneto's forces and the others, Layla was able to restore Magneto's memories; as well, Wanda confessed to Dr. Strange that it was Quicksilver, not Magneto, who had initiated the reality warp.

Enraged, Magneto confronted Quicksilver, angry that Quicksilver had done all of this in his name. Quicksilver told Magneto that he would have let Wanda die. Magneto replied that Quicksilver had only used him and Wanda. He then killed Quicksilver.

Wanda revived her brother, telling Magneto that Quicksilver had only wanted him to be happy and that Magneto had ruined them, choosing the mutants over his own children. She further denounced Xavier and in three words ("No more mutants") Wanda changed the world back to its original form but from that moment on, no more mutant births occurred. It became known as "M-Day: The worst day in mutant history."

After the fallout, the resurrected Hawkeye/Clint Barton tracked Wanda to a small village near Wundagore Mountain, where he unknowingly saved her from a thief. Wanda was living in a small apartment with her only relative, her "Aunt Agatha" (who was never seen, but could possibly have been a manifestation of Wanda's now-dead mentor Agatha Harkness; Wanda also mentioned this to Beast, saying she was stuck out here for purposes of looking after an "elderly relative" who would worry if she got home late, indicating that this Aunt indeed existed in some form). She appeared to be powerless and believed that she had lived her entire life in the village. She did not recognize Hawkeye, nor did she remember her life with the Avengers or other events. Wanda told Hawkeye that he was her "hero" for dealing a thief and kissed him, and they spent the night together. The following morning, while Wanda was sleeping, Hawkeye became curious about the next room where "Aunt Agatha" was supposedly sleeping, but the doorknob appeared to shift away from his hands, a subtle reality manipulation usually associated with the Scarlet Witch. However, Clint looked back to see that Wanda was still asleep.

The mutant Beast later found Wanda at the same village and sought her help to deal with the aftermath of M-Day. She had no memory of him either, and claimed that she did not believe in magic. The Young Avengers Wiccan and Speed decided to find Wanda, as Wiccan wanted to know once and for all if she was indeed their mother. They traveled to several places connected to Wanda and themselves in their search, but Wiccan was unable to detect any sign of Wanda's magic. Wiccan and Speed united to search for her around the planet, but both ultimately failed, though they were told by Master Pandemonium that they had to cease their quest to seek her, lest risk unleashing the darkness of the Witch's past yet again.

Later, the Asgardian god Loki, concealed in an astral form by simple spells and illusions, disguised herself as Wanda and assembled a new team of Mighty Avengers to be led by Hank Pym to oppose the demon Chthon. Chthon was eventually banished back to his own dimension, and his human vessel Quicksilver was released from his control. Loki's goal was to prevent another god of chaos from laying siege to the Nine Worlds and cracking Norman Osborn's armor to quicken his fall. She continued to assemble the Mighty Avengers, who remained unaware of Loki's involvement.

None were aware that the true Wanda had yet to reemerge from seclusion, as only Clint Barton, Beast and higher powers than they, such as the Living Tribunal or Uatu knew of her status. Quicksilver, having joined the Mighty Avengers, sought to use his position on the team to find her, a desire not missed by the impassive Loki. Pym also wanted to use Pietro in turn to solve the mysterious return of Wanda Maximoff.

Agamotto later detected her presence and displays her as one of thirty possible candidates for the role of Sorcerer Supreme through his Eye, but due to her apparent lack of magic and past instability refrained from selecting her, instead choosing Brother Voodoo to fill the position.

Wanda was found in Latveria by her alleged son Wiccan. She seemingly lost all her memories and powers and engaged to Victor von Doom. Billy told her about who she was, and what she did. He also told her about her twin sons, and almost told about his suspicions that he and Tommy Shepherd are actually her reincarnated sons. His story was interrupted by the battle between the Avengers, the Young Avengers, Magneto and Doctor Doom. Wolverine tried to kill Wanda, but was stopped by Iron Lad, who teleported the Young Avengers and Wanda into the timestream.

They all went into the past, and met reanimated Jack of Hearts, who exploded. After that Wanda remembered who she is, and regained her powers and returned herself, the Young Avengers and Scott Lang into the present. She then finally confirmed that Billy and Tommy are indeed her reincarnated sons. It was revealed that Wanda's ability was brought about when Doctor Doom assisted her in becoming a conduit for Life Force itself, in an effort to recreate her children. The power was too great for her to control, leading to her breakdown.

Doom stole Wanda's power and became omnipotent, but while battling the Avengers and the X-Men, his powers overloaded, leaving him with his scarred face again and powerless, unable to continue the battle, he teleported himself away. The X-Men agreed to leave her be, Magneto and Quicksilver both wished to spend time with her as a family and Captain America offered her a spot in the Avengers but Wanda declined saying she needed to be alone.

Wanda played a key role during the events featured in AvX. After defeating both M.O.D.O.K. and A.I.M with the help of Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman, she visited the Avengers' Mansion but was not welcome by Vision. She then began to have visions of the Phoenix Force; and during one of those visions, she foresaw a future in which the Phoenix killed the original Avengers.

Believing the Mutant Messiah to be the key to defeating the Phoenix Five, which consisted of the Phoenix Avatars Cyclops, Emma, Namor, Magik and Colossus, the Avengers launched an operation to extract Hope from Utopia. If it wasn't for Wanda, they would have been defeated by Cyclops. Wanda convinced Hope to go with the Avengers, as Cyclops vowed that he would no longer tolerate the Avengers.

After a confrontation between the Avengers and the Phoenix Five, in which Wanda defeated Magik, she began to train Hope with Spider-Man's help on Wakanda, but the Phoenix Five decided to take Hope back with them. Hope revealed that Wanda was the only Avenger the X-Men feared and respected. Doctor Strange gave Amulets of Illusion to different Avengers to make them appear as Wanda when she wasn't present, in hopes of scaring the Phoenix Five. It worked to a degree and bought the other Avengers time to complete missions across the globe. The Phoenix Five began to suspect the many-Wandas were an illusion, so Namor decided to attack one of them. Much to his disappointment, she was the real Scarlet Witch and she defeated him. Namor then led the Atlanteans into war against Wakanda, and nearly-defeated all of the Avengers, until Wanda showed up and defeated him. Meanwhile Iron Fist had taken Hope and Wolverine to K'un-Lun to hide and prepare for a confrontation with the Phoenix Five.

When Cyclops learned of their location, he decided to travel there and take Hope back with him, but Hope used Wanda's and Shao Lao the dragon's power to send him to the Moon. After a brief confrontation between Hope and Wanda, which was stopped by Captain America, the Avengers came to realize Cyclops had become the sole-wielder of the Phoenix Force.

The Dark Phoenix began to burn the world so Wanda and Hope decided to join forces in order to stop him. Together, they managed to take down Dark Phoenix. The Phoenix escaped Cyclops's body and entered Hope's. Hope used its power to reverse the damage and destruction caused by Dark Phoenix and restore the mutant population. Then, as Wanda had once used her powers to wish away mutants by uttering the words, "No more mutants," Wanda and Hope joined their powers and wished, "No more Phoenix." It is unknown if Phoenix was destroyed or merely banished from the Earth by the spell.

Wanda has since returned to The Avengers and has been a member of the Avengers-Justice League-X-Men Alliance.

Characterization: Wanda, along with her siblings, appears to have inherited her father's propensity for mental illness and depression. Wanda has suffered mental breakdowns, undergone episodes of mental illness and suffered deep depression.

Friends and Foes: Despite their issues at times, she remains closest to her brother Pietro. She is also working to forge relationships with her father, Magneto, and her sons, Speed and Wiccan.

She is close to her Avengers teammates, Clint Barton, Captain Marvel, Captain America and Iron Man and is trying to repair her relationships with former lovers Wonder Man and The Vision.

Clean Up 4/22/12: Wanda gets an update thanks to the Power Profiles for Luck and Magic.

Last edited by Thorpacolypse on Tue Apr 01, 2014 7:36 pm, edited 6 times in total.

Harry's a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-good-ness wizard. He's Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. He'll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if he thinks it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences-and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being. - Thomas

COMPLICATIONS:Accident: Wizards and technology don't mix.Doing Good: Harry has a strong sense of right and wrong and will bend heaven and earth to do the right thing.Enemy: John Marcone, The Denarians, The Street Wolves, and many, many others. With the list seemingly growing daily…Pain In The Ass: Despite his good intentions and strong relationships he's forged, he can still make people want to kill him like no one you've ever seen.Power Loss: Wizards lose their magic under running water and within thresholds if uninvited.Relationships: Karrin Murphy, Susan Rodriguez, The Carpenter family, especially Molly, The Alphas, his brother, Mister, Mouse, Butters and a few others I will not name so as not spoil anything…Reputation: Only Wizard in the Phone Book (ergo, charlatan), Broke the First Law of Magic, Rumors of Working for Marcone, loose cannon among the White Council.Responsibility: He sees Chicago as his town to protect from any and all supernatural threats.Rivalry: With the old guard of the White Council, especially Morgan and often the leader of the White Council, The Merlin, Arthur LangtrySecret: Oh, he has a few…the lineage of his half-brother…various instances of "bending" the 7 Laws…his faerie connections…Bob…his debts to Mab, and othersTemper: Harry oftentimes struggles to control his emotions, particularly his temper. This can cause him to be unable to focus his magic, cause it to go out of control as well as to cause him to make rash, unwise decisions. FREQUENTLY…

Build Comments: So this is my full bore, almost all “leveled up” Harry as of the next to last two novels Small Favor and White Knight. This is before his life got turned upside down and he gained additional powers in Changes. Here he has better control over his blasting and other powers and has upgraded his Shield Bracelet and such. Here he still has the Beetle (and I kept the indestructible, I don't care what any of you say, I think its demise in Changes was an illusion...) and his usual stuff.

I am considering making his Blast array Unreliable (5 uses) because he usually runs out of steam after a cutting loose for a while, but in the later novels, he's shown to be a bit more durable magic-wise thanks to his re-learning his craft as he teaches Molly. We'll see how this plays.

Secret Origins: Harry was born on Halloween, to Margaret Gwendolyn LeFay and Malcolm Dresden. His mother died in childbirth, so Malcolm took care of him while travelling across the country trying to make a career as a stage magician. When Harry was six, Malcolm died of a brain aneurysm. Harry, orphaned, became a ward of the state.

Harry first manifested his powers at age ten, during a running long jump at school Olympics in the spring. Desperate to win, he magically pushed himself about about ten feet farther than he would have jumped on his own. Though he landed badly and sprained his wrist, he won a blue ribbon that he keeps to this day.

The Story so Far: About two weeks after first manifesting, he was adopted by Justin DuMorne, a wizard and former Warden of the White Council, who took him as his apprentice.
At age thirteen, Harry was given his first shielding lesson by DuMorne, who used baseballs as projectiles. At age sixteen, DuMorne tried to enthrall both Harry and his girlfriend, fellow adoptee Elaine Mallory. He succeeded in enthralling Elaine, but Harry escaped. He faced and beat He Who Walks Behind, an Outsider summoned by DuMorne to kill Harry; afterwards, he decided to go back and rescue Elaine. Harry made a bargain with the Leanansidhe in which he received power enough to defeat Justin DuMorne, a debt he would owe his godmother for years to come. Harry faced DuMorne in a duel to the death and won. He stole Bob, the air spirit of knowledge, and left, thinking Elaine died in the fire.

Harry was then found by the White Council, much to his surprise; as far as he knew, there were no other wizards besides himself, DuMorne, and Elaine. He was put on trial for breaking the First Law of Magic. He was let off the death penalty due to the killing being ruled as self-defense, and instead was put under the Doom of Damocles. This was due to some of the Council members, notably Ebenezar McCoy. Harry was taken in as apprentice by McCoy; though this would later be found out to be because McCoy was the Council's wet-works man, and was under orders to kill Harry if he showed any signs of rebelliousness -- which happened fairly often, apparently. Harry lived with McCoy on his farm in Hog Hollow, Missouri; his days were spent with hard work on the farm during the day, and studying in the evening. Although McCoy taught him about magic, his teaching of general values and providing a stable and peaceful life and home were even more important, and crucial for shaping his life. It later is revealed that McCoy is Harry's grandfather.

After spending some years "getting his head together" under McCoy's tutelage, Harry attained membership to the Council, though he didn't, and still doesn't, trust them. He spent some years travelling across America, much like he did with his father, before settling down in Chicago.

After he first came to Chicago, he worked at a bunch of different jobs, among them being a dance partner with a senior-citizen organization, where he learned ballroom dancing. He then joined Nicholas Christian at Ragged Angel Investigations, where he spent three years gaining his licence as a private investigator. After this, he opened his own business, which had been open for about two years when he has one of first defining cases. Harry comes up against a two-bit sorcerer mixing sex, drugs, magic and murder, the Shadowman who he defeats after a draining magical battle. Afterwards, The Doom of Damocles is lifted from him in a Council meeting due to "valorous action above and beyond the call of duty", although he himself cannot attend due to still being hospitalized.

Later, Harry faces off against several different kinds of werewolves, and gains a new ally in Billy and his gang of werewolves, known as the Alphas. Harry also concludes at the end of the case that someone is trying to kill him, having put together certain facts from his recent cases. He also begins dating Susan Rodriguez. His relationship with Susan would lead to him being manipulated into a conflict with the Red Court of Vampires, led by Bianca. Another friend of his is also introduced, Michael Carpenter, a Knight of the Holy Cross. And Harry also meets Thomas Raith, of the White Court of Vampires, for the first time. Unfortunately for Harry, Susan is kidnapped by Bianca, and half-turned into a Red Court vampire. Harry gets her back, but only by killing his host while a representative of the White Council, thereby starting a Wizards vs. Vampires war.

After this, Harry begins living rough, spending all his time trying to find a cure for Susan. He is quickly ensnared into averting a war between the Faery Courts, Summer and Winter, as not doing so would send the world into one of two climates. Harry also learns that the current Queen of the Winter Court, Mab, has bought his debt from his Godmother. They haggle a deal whereby Harry will do three favours for Mab, which he chooses, and he'll be free from Fae influence. The events of the case make one favour, so Harry owes Mab two more. He also that Elaine survived the fire with which Harry took down Justin DuMorne, and hid in the Summer Court, building up a debt to the current Summer Lady, Aurora, to protect her from those who would want to find and use her.

Sometime later Harry meets the other two Knights of the Cross, and has to find the Shroud of Turin before Nicodemus, the head of the Order of the Blackened Denarius (Denarians being fallen angels who inhabit the 30 pieces of silver used to pay off Judas Iscariat for his betrayal of Christ) uses it to set off an apocalyptic plague. He also has to contend with a duel with Paolo Ortega, a Duke of the Red Court, and meets Susan again for the first time since her half-transformation in Grave Peril. At the end of the situation, Harry picks up the coin of the Fallen Angel Lasciel to protect Michael's youngest son. Harry also met Thomas Raith again, and met Jared Kincaid, a mercenary that protects The Archive (who Harry names Ivy), a seven-year-old child who is the living repository for all human knowledge.

In a following case, Harry picks up a stowaway from a job, a Foo Dog, whom he eventually names Mouse and decides to keep. Harry also has to contend with a ritual curse being sent to kill the women around Arturo Genosa, a pornographic movie director. He also finds out that Thomas Raith is his half-brother, on his mother's side. Eventually, he's pulled into a power struggle in the White Court. Harry decides to stamp on the Black Court subversion that is happening also. In taking out the problem, Mavra, he severely burns his hand after Mavra exploits a gap in his defensive capabilities.

Around this time, Harry learns that Ebenezar McCoy is the White Council's Blackstaff, the wet-works man who can break the Laws of Magic at will, if he thinks that the Council is being manipulated by them. Harry also learns that Kincaid is a Scion, or part demon.

Months later, Mavra, who didn't die in in their last conflict, forces to take a job looking for "The Word of Kemmler", the last in a series of magical texts by the deceased necromancer, Heinrich Kemmler‎, in order to protect Murphy, who engaged in the unsanctioned assault on Mavra. Murphy is on holiday in Hawaii with Kincaid, who she met during the assault. While trying to deal with the group of "Kemmlerites", the Red Court launch their first major offensive on the Council, killing most of the Wardens in the process. Captain Luccio therefore makes Harry a Warden -- the White Council needs every available wizard, and Harry becoming a Warden raises morale among the younger members of the Council. Harry also becomes aware of Lasciel's presence in his head, and has to walk a fine line between using her gifts (such as Hellfire, which supercharges his spells, and her photographic memory) and resisting her, or else he will fall under her power.

After that, Harry investigates black magic in Chicago, at the behest of the Gatekeeper. He also finds himself up against faerie constructs based around horror films, and leads a charge on the Winter Fae capital, Arctis Tor, in order to retrieve Molly Carpenter, Michael's oldest daughter, who is later revealed to be the warlock behind the black magic. At Molly's trial, Harry "becomes a politician", in his own words, cutting off the Merlin's choices until the Merlin is forced to allow Harry to take Molly under the Doom of Damocles.

Shortly thereafter, women with the ability to use magic (too weak to be full wizards) have been disappearing. It looks like the White Court may be taking a more active role in the war between vampires and wizards and it looks like Thomas is connected. To make things worse, Thomas isn't answering Harry's calls. Several rivaling interests among the White Vampire are interwoven into a thicker, yet well-coordinated plot full of surprises and tag-team dueling action but Harry triumphed again. .Later, Harry loses his ability to charge his spells with Hellfire and has to make do without it for another favor to Queen Mab and the recent resurgence of the Denarians. During the process, he gains the ability to use Soulfire, the divine equivalent of Hellfire fueled by his own soul, though it will regenerate given enough time, and acts which are "good for the soul."

Harry’s long time tormentor Morgan arrives on Harry's door, injured and on the run; he's accused of the murder of a Senior Council member, though it's a setup. Harry assists the White Court, which has also been set up by the Black Council, in proving Morgan's innocence. During his investigation, he claims a Sanctum, has to fight a Skinwalker and is finally able to pinpoint a traitor in the White Council. Meanwhile, Harry's brother is kidnapped and darkened by the Skinwalker.

Characterization: Harry Dresden is a wizard who works as a private investigator of sorts in Chicago (he's in the phone book, the only listing under "Wizards"), dealing with paranormal crimes and consulting for the Chicago Police Department.

Harry is considered a magical "thug," lacking fine control of his power, but is one of the strongest living wizards in terms of pure magical strength, as well as factors surrounding the timing of his birth. He originally favored fire and wind spells in battle, but has since evolved towards fire and kinetic force. He is also an expert at tracking spells (which he uses in his investigations) along with summoning and entrapment spells to speak to faeries and other supernatural sources of information. Due to his lack of finer control, Harry often must rely on magical items to help focus and channel his magical energy, such as his staff, blasting rod, shield bracelet, and force rings. He has gotten better at using Veils and tighter control of his fire spells because of teaching his apprentice Molly Carpenter

Harry has also been known to carry around many firearms such as a .38 revolver, a .357, and most recently a .44 revolver and a sawed-off pump shotgun for those times when 'magic just doesn't cut it'.

One of Harry's latent, if not more useless, talents is his wit and the ability to use that wit infused with pop culture references. Most times Harry can insult a more powerful being and be long gone before the being realizes it's been insulted. He often lays sarcasm on thickly when dealing with people whom he does not like, such as Marcone. Harry seems to enjoy using Bugs Bunny and Yoda lines in particular.

Harry is an accomplished ballroom dancer, having worked professionally as a dance partner for retirees. He uses this ability in Death Masks, dancing with Susan Rodriguez. He is much less comfortable with other forms of dance.

Friends and Foes: While it isn't stated among his magical powers, perhaps Harry's greatest asset compared to many of his peers are his non-wizardly friends and allies that he can call upon. From giving the Archive a name (Ivy), to working with the crime lord of Chicago, John Marcone, adopting a Foo Dog, forming rescued pixies into a support team, having a (friendly) White Court vampire half-brother (Thomas Raith), having a strong link with Chicago's Police Department via Karrin Murphy, a personal connection with a pack of (good) werewolves, the Alphas, and all of the Knights of the Cross (and particularly Michael Carpenter and his family), Harry's allies and alliances have in many ways proven more powerful than his magical talents. His knack for making friends out of enemies even managed to convert the shadow of the Denarian Lasciel to his side, as awarding her a name (Lash) showed her that she was every bit as entitled to her freedom of will, as the fallen angel that had spawned her was entitled to be independent of God. Whereas most traditional and hidebound wizards refuse to have dealings with other magical beings, Harry has gained a great deal of respect and infamy that often allows him to pursue other options normally not available to wizards. Of particular relevance is the fact that Harry has met and has some level of interaction with all the Queens of the Summer and Winter Courts of Faerie.

Harry's first and primary magical associate is Bob, a spirit of knowledge, the equivalent of a magical encyclopedia. Bob supplies Harry magical knowledge, analysis, experience, and note-taking. Bob is also capable of possessing non-sentients, up to and including animated tyrannosaurs. He is also capable of some nasty magic himself, if reverted to older incarnations, and can spin complex magic very quickly, or control existing magic much faster than Harry (he can take down the wards on Harry’s house faster than Harry can, for example). Bob lives in a skull down in Harry’s lab.

Harry's Foo Dog, Mouse, is a character of his own, possessed of roughly human intelligence, able to detect supernatural evil, battle straight up with supernaturally tough and strong opponents, and voice a bark that can be heard for miles or throughout a burning hotel. His collar has one of the miniature shields from Harry's bracelet attached to it as a way for Harry to find him.

Complementing Mouse is Harry's crew of loyal, pizza-bribed pixies, serving as scouts and spies and informers and keeping the mice out of his home, under the leadership of the empowered pixie Major General Toot-toot. Mouse is called a 'little brother' by Uriel himself, a clear indication of his celestial background.

In addition, Harry keeps a large gray cat named Mister as a pet. He found Mister in a garbage can with his tail torn off - either by a dog or a car, Harry assumed. Mister hates both and will either attack or flee from them on sight. He weighs over 30 pounds, due to sheer size rather than fat and has a fondness for Coca-Cola and food from McAnally's, Harry's favorite pub. Mister often acts as a vehicle for Bob when Harry sends him out to do surveillance, since Bob cannot tolerate sunlight. Mister is uniquely described as the only living thing that appears exactly the same viewed normally or with Harry's Wizard's Sight.

Harry is a member of the White Council as a full Wizard, and has also been drafted into the Wardens, the combat-capable members of the Council, after their losses fighting the Red Court. He thus has potential access to the knowledge and power of the Senior Council, especially his mentor Ebenezar McCoy. He is also a member of the Grey Council, set up by McCoy to face the rise of the secretive Black Council which seems to be pulling strings throughout all the major challenges Harry has recently faced. He has excellent relations with the younger Wardens, who rather idolize him, as well as the Captain of the Wardens.

Harry’s apprentice Molly Carpenter complements him well. She is naturally adept at fine sensory magic, mental magic, illusions, veils, and subtle control. Teaching her has forced Harry to acquire more control over his own magic than he had in the past. She has little combat magic, but serves excellently in an auxiliary role as a 'battlefield controller'.

Clean Up 4/27/12: Minor tweaks to my Harry, just adding Hexus, to allow him to blow up some tech if he needs to. I'm moving Bob and Mouse here now, too, since I am moving my PC Harry to the other thread.

"Tequila?" I (Harry) asked him, skeptically. "Are you sure on that one? I thought the base for a love potion was supposed to be champagne."
"Champagne, tequila, what's the difference, so long as it'll lower her inhibitions?" Bob said. "Uh. I'm thinking it's going to get us a, um, sleazier result."

COMPLICATIONS:Good? Evil? What’s the difference? Being an entity of pure intellect, for the most part, he lacks a moral code.Obsession: Bob is a big, BIG fan of sex.Responsibility: Bob has to obey who ever possesses his skull.Secret: He's been owned by some pretty wicked people before and there are things he's been ordered (or compelled) not to tell by them and even Harry. Also, he is really not supposed to be around and if the White Council finds him, he could be confiscated and then Lord know what will happen to him…Weakness: Bob's spirit is bound to the skull and cannot leave his skull without permission. Thresholds affect him like hitting a brick wall, and being exposed to sunlight without possessing a body imposes the dying condition on him.

Comments: Bob is da bomb. A font of magical knowledge and a horny spirit that keeps the books light with his innuendo and lack of morals. More on Bob later.

Clean Up 1/26/13: So after the past few books, I decided to make some updates to Bob. And since he is no longer with Harry, I decided to give him his own post and change Harry (and another upcoming build) to simply have a piece of Equipment that has a Feature 1 (Access to Bob).

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COMPLICATIONS:Disability: Mouse cannot talk to humans or use his paws to easily manipulate objects.Relationships: Harry and his inner circle, mostly, but Mouse will protect anyone that he deems worthy.Secret: The full extent of Mouse's abilities have not been revealed and of course, he's not telling.

Comments: And where would Harry be without his faithful dog? Mouse is a temple dog (or Foo dog, depending on your preference) who has saved Harry’s arse many times since he came into his life. Mouse has shown supernatural strength and recovery abilities as well as other temple dog powers like being able to bark loud enough to be heard for miles and the ability to detect magic, and especially dark magic. He seems to show a new ability every book, and in Changes, he was a bad enough dude that he made Harry’s fairy godmother back down, so I added a Variable Power just in case something comes up that he needs to really throw down on. And I did not make him a Minion or a Sidekick because it has become obvious that he probably the wisest character in those books and it's also become debatable as to who owns who.

As for his PL...who knows? If he made Lea back down, he could be capable of PL12-13 level stuff. But for now, we'll keep him at this reasonable level.

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COMPLICATIONS:Enemy: The Knights of the Cross and The Order of the Blackened Denarius (Denarians) have been at war for centuriesHonor: Michael is one of the most honorable men in the world. He will ALWAYS do the right thingRelationships: He deeply loves his wife and family, and even though they have their conflicts (Harry seems to have those with everyone, really), he is close to Harry, even naming his youngest son after himReputation: The Fist of God and DragonslayerResponsibility: As a one of the 3 Knights of the Cross, he has worldwide responsibilities to uphold his position

Comments: Michael Carpenter, Knight of the Cross (former at the moment, but always hold out hope he will take up the sword again in the later books) and father of Harry’s apprentice, Molly. In the Dresden RPG, they consider the Knights of the Cross supernatural heavyweights, meaning starting PCs don’t have a chance against them if they choose to fight them. I am pretty sure I am going to start my FTF Dresdenverse game at PL8, so I think this pretty much meets the above mentioned criteria.

Michael has shown to be next unbeatable when dealing with evil creatures like the Red Court Vampires and the lesser Denarians, so I built his power structure where he really only hits his caps when dealing with creatures like that.

Last edited by Thorpacolypse on Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.